Neck pulling and cropping system

ABSTRACT

A system for removing the neck, windpipe and esophagus from poultry where the neck is broken with an opening through the neck skin at the break which includes a neck removal machine and a pulling machine past which the poultry is moved on an overhead conveyor. The neck removal machine holds the windpipe and esophagus at the neck break and engages the broken end of the neck with a finger member to displace the neck from the poultry to break the neck skin and release the neck while leaving the windpipe and esophagus intact. The pulling machine engages the windpipe and esophagus to pull them out of the poultry carcass which also removes any crop still attached to the esophagus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to the processing of poultry and moreparticularly to the removal of the neck, windpipe and esophagus from thepoultry carcass.

In the processing of poultry, it is typical to remove the neck from thepoultry carcass. Subsequently the windpipe or trachea or gullet alongwith the crop and esophagus are removed from the poultry carcass fordisposal. Machines have been developed to break the necks of the poultryduring the processing operation. In these machines, the neck is brokenat its junction with the body. This also serves to cut an opening in theneck skin of the poultry but leaves that portion of the neck skin on thefront of the neck where the windpipe and esophagus are located intact sothat the neck is held onto the poultry carcass through this unseveredpiece of neck skin. This neck breaking operation does not sever thewindpipe or esophagus so that they remain attached to the poultrycarcass and pass under the neck skin.

While the neck breaking operation has been relatively successful, themechanization of the removal of the neck and the separate removal of thewindpipe and esophagus has not met with similar success. This is becauseprior art machines have had difficulty in keeping the windpipe andesophagus with the body of the poultry carcass while the already brokenneck was pulled from the carcass. As a result, machines which sought tomechanically and separately remove the broken necks and the windpipe andesophagus from the poultry carcasses have not met with commercialsuccess.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These and other problems and disadvantages associated with the prior artare overcome by the invention disclosed herein by the provision of anapparatus and method which is capable of separately removing the neckand then the windpipe and esophagus from poultry carcasses in a reliablemanner so that the manual labor required is minimized. The apparatus ofthe invention is simple in construction thereby minimizing initialinvestment cost and also minimizing the operational and maintenancecosts associated therewith.

The method of the invention includes breaking the necks of the poultrywhile the poultry is conveyed along a processing path in a headlowermost position while at the same time cutting an opening through theneck skin at its juncture with the body of the carcass. This breaks theneck without severing the windpipe and esophagus and leaves the neckconnected to the carcass of the bird through an unsevered portion of theneck skin. Subsequently, the viscera is removed through the rear end ofthe bird. As the viscera is pulled through the rear end of the bird, thewindpipe is broken leaving that portion passing under the neck skin.This operation at least loosens the crop and also removes it through therear end of the bird most of the time. A certain pecentage of the time,however, the crop is broken from the rest of the viscera leaving itstill attached to the esophagus passing under the neck skin.

Subsequently, the windpipe and esophagus are gripped and pulleddownwardly to pull the windpipe and esophagus out of the carcass. If thecrop remains after the viscera is removed, it will be pulled out of thecarcass by the esophagus.

The apparatus of the invention includes generally a neck removal machinewhich separates the neck from the carcass while leaving the windpipe andesophagus still attached to the carcass and a pulling machine whichengages the windpipe and esophagus to pull them out of the carcass. Theneck removal machine has an upper set of endless gripping assembliesthat grip the unsevered portion of the neck skin along with the windpipeand esophagus to keep them in place while the neck is pulled. A lowerset of endless pulling assemblies engage the neck and neck skin withoutengaging the esophagus and windpipe and displace the neck and neck skindownwardly to break the unsevered portion of the neck skin and strip thewindpipe and esophagus out from under the neck skin. The pulling machinehas a set of endless gripping assemblies that grip the windpipe andesophagus after release by the neck removal machine and pull downwardlythereon to pull the windpipe and esophagus out of the poultry carcass.If the crop has not already been removed, it will be pulled out of thecarcass by the esophagus.

These and other features and advantages of the invention will becomemore clearly understood upon consideration of the following detaileddescription and accompanying drawings wherein like characters ofreference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views andin which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing illustrating the invention installed in apoultry processing plant;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view illustrating machines embodying theinvention;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view with the covers removed illustrating the neckremoval machine of the invention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating one of the endlessholding assemblies of the invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the other endlessholding assembly of the invention;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating one of the endlessassemblies of the invention;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the other endlesspulling assembly of the invention;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken generally along theline 8--8 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view with the covers removed of the pulling machineof the invention;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating one of the endlessengagement assemblies of the pulling machine;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the other endlessengagement assembly of the pulling machine; and

FIG. 12 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken generally along theline 12--12 in FIG. 9.

These figures and the following detailed description disclose specificembodiments of the invention, however, it is to be understood that theinventive concept is not limited thereto since it may be embodied inother forms.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a system 10 incorporating theinvention. The poultry processing plant has an overhead conveyor OC fromwhich the poultry carcasses are suspended in a head lowermost positionand transported through the plant along a prescribed processing path. Asthe poultry carcasses are conveyed by the conveyor OC, they aresuccessively moved past a neck breaking station NB where the necks ofthe poultry are broken and an opening is made in the neck skin at thepoint where the neck is broken. While the poultry carcasses may be movedthrough intermediate stations by the conveyor OC, they eventually pass aviscera unloading station VU where the gizzard and other viscera stillattached to the carcass through the esophagus and crop is pulled fromthe poultry carcass and deposited in a gizzard processing machine GP forprocessing. This viscera unloading operation loosens the crop andusually pulls the crop out through the rear opening in the carcass. Thepoultry carcass is then conveyed past a neck removal station NR wherethe neck is removed from the poultry carcass while leaving the windpipeand any portion of the esophagus still present attached to the body ofthe poultry carcass. The overhead conveyor OC then moves the poultrypast the pulling station P where the windpipe and any portion of theesophagus still remaining attached to the body of the poultry carcassare pulled therefrom. If the crop remains attached to the esophagus, itwill be removed along with the esophagus.

The neck breaking station NB includes a neck breaking machine of knownconstruction which serves to engage the neck of the bird at the juncturebetween the neck and the body of the poultry carcass and to break theneck bone at that position. Additionally, the machine at the neckbreaking station NB cuts a hole in the neck skin at the point where theneck is broken yet leaves the neck attached to the body of the poultrycarcass through an unsevered piece of neck skin along the front orbreast side of the neck to prevent the windpipe or trachea and gullet oresophagus from being severed at this point. The neck is broken and theopening is made from the back side of the bird since the windpipe andesophagus pass down the front side of the neck. An example of a neckbreaking machine which will perform this function is commerciallyavailable from Centennial Machine Company, Inc. of Gainesville, Ga. asthe model 401 Neck Breaker. Thus, as the poultry is moved away from theneck breaking station NB by the overhead conveyor OC, the neck of thepoultry will still be attached to the poultry carcass through theunsevered portion of the neck skin.

By the time the poultry carcass reaches the unloading station VU, thepoultry will already have been eviscerated with the viscera hanging overthe back of the poultry carcass but still connected to the poultrycarcass through the esophagus and crop. As the poultry with the visceradangling over the rear end of the bird is moved past the visceraunloading station VU, the gizzard and attached viscera may be pulledfrom the poultry carcass manually or unloaded with an unloading machinesuch as that illustrated in copending application Serial No. filed oneven date with this application, entitled "Viscera Processing System"and owned by the assignee of this application. In the removal of theviscera from the poultry carcass at the viscera unloading station VU, aforce is exerted on the crop through the esophagus connecting the cropto the gizzard to at least loosen the crop in its cavity in the poultrycarcass. In most instances, the crop will be pulled out of the rear endof the bird along with the esophagus when the viscera is unloaded.Sometimes, however, the esophagus may break between the crop and gizzardso that the crop is left in the poultry carcass with the esophagusextending up the neck in the poultry. It will be appreciated that thegizzard and attached viscera separated from the poultry carcass at theviscera unloading station VU is fed to the gizzard processing machineGP. The gizzard processing machine GP is of the type that both removesthe viscera connected to the gizzard and processes the gizzard into anedible produce as is known in the art.

The neck removal station NR includes a neck removal machine 11 best seenin FIGS. 2-6. The neck removal machine 11 includes a support frame 12which mounts an upper set of endless gripping assemblies 14 thereon anda lower set of endless pulling assemblies 15 thereon below the grippingassemblies 14. As will become more apparent, the upper grippingassemblies 14 engage the unsevered portion of the neck skin of the birdalong with the windpipe and esophagus to support same at a fixedposition relative to the carcass as the overhead conveyor OC moves thebird past the machine 11. The lower pulling assemblies 15 engage theneck and pull it downwardly away from the poultry carcass and upperassemblies 14 break the unsevered portion of the neck skin below theupper assemblies 14. This serves to separate the neck and neck skin fromthe poultry carcass while at the same time stripping the windpipe andesophagus out from under the neck skin so that they remain attached tothe poultry carcass.

The support frame 12 includes a pair of spaced apart, aligned side beams16 interconnected by slide tubes 18 so that the side beams 16 can bemoved toward and away from each other yet alignment is maintained by theslide tubes 18. The side beams 16 are also mounted on a cross tube 19with appropriate brackets 20 so that the side beams 16 can be movedtoward and away from each other yet be selectively locked in place onthe cross tube 19 by the brackets 20. It will also be appreciated thatthe side beams 16 can be pivoted as a unit around the cross tube 19 andthe brackets 20 used to lock the side beams 16 at different angles withrespect to the horizontal. The cross tube 19 is supported on anappropriate leg 21 to support same in the processing plant. Theassemblies 14 and 15 are mounted under appropriate covers 25 whichdefine an elongate opening extending therebetween through which the neckof the poultry passes as it is conveyed by the overhead conveyor. Thus,it will be seen that the longitudinal axis of the machine 11 is alignedunder the poultry processing path along which the birds are conveyed bythe overhead conveyor OC.

The lower set of endless pulling assemblies 15 lie in a common plane ina side-by-side relationship so that the neck will be engagedtherebetween. The plane of assemblies 15 angle downwardly from theirupstream ends toward their downstream ends at an angle A_(N) seen inFIG. 2. The upstream ends of the assemblies 15 are located at about thesame height with respect to the overhead conveyor OC as the upper set ofendless gripping assemblies 14 and engage the neck of the bird beforeassemblies 14.

One of the endless pulling assemblies 15 includes an endless holdingchain 26 trained around upstream and downstream sprockets 28 whosesupport shafts 29 are rotatably journalled in bearings mounted on one ofthe side beams 16. It will be appreciated that the holding chain 26 liesin a plane which angles with respect to the horizontal at angle A_(N) asseen in FIG. 2. The holding chain 26 is located on that side of thepoultry processing path along which the breast side of the bird ismoving so that its inboard flight is operatively associated with theneck of the bird as it passes through the neck removal machine 11. Theinboard flight of the holding chain 26 is positioned by a keeper 30 sothat the upstream portion of the inboard flight of chain 26 movesinwardly toward the poultry processing path and then moves along a pathgenerally parallel to the poultry processing path but angled downwardlyaway from the body of the poultry from its upstream end toward itsdownstream end.

The chain 26 as seen in FIG. 6 is made with cut-off tapered tabs 31along one edge thereof which project toward the neck of the poultry. Thetabs 31 define notches 32 therebetween so that the neck skin can beengaged by the tabs 31 yet the windpipe and/or esophagus can bedisplaced under the neck skin until they are aligned with the notches 32so that the neck and neck skin can be stripped from over the windpipeand/or esophagus. Typically, the tapered tabs 31 are located along thebottom edge of the chain 26. Keeper tabs 34 are provided on chain 26 tokeep it trained on keeper 30.

The other lower pulling assembly 15 includes a finger chain 35 trainedaround spaced apart upstream and downstream sprockets 36 on shafts 38where the shafts 38 are rotatably mounted in appropriate bearings on theother side beam 16 opposite the side beam 16 mounting the holding chain26. The finger chain 35 is oriented along the same angle A_(N) as theholding chain 26 and on the opposite side of the poultry processing pathfrom the holding chain 26 so that the inboard flight on finger chain 35faces the inboard flight of the holding chain 26. The neck of thepoultry will pass between the inboard flights of the chains 26 and 35and be gripped thereby. The inboard flight of the finger chain 35 ispositioned by keeper 39 so that the upstream portion of the inboardflight of chain 35 moves inwardly toward the poultry processing path andthen moves along a path generally parallel to the poultry processingpath while being angled downwardly away from the body of the poultryfrom its upstream end toward its downstream end similarly to the chain26 on the other assembly 15. Thus, the inboard flights of the chains 26and 35 have an infeed portion which angle inwardly toward each other atthe upstream end of the inboard flight and then move parallel to eachother in vertical registration with the poultry processing path.

The finger chain 35 as seen in FIG. 7 is provided with backup plates 40on each of the links 41 thereof oriented so that the backup plates 40face the tapered tabs 31 on the holding chain 26 along with inboardflight of the chain 35. The top edge of the backup plates 40 areequipped with finger members 42 which have a pair of spaced apart legs44 joined at the projecting end thereof by a curved bight 45 with theinboard ends of the legs 44 being fixedly attached to the backup plates40. The legs 44 project upwardly from the backup plate 40 generallyparallel to the backup surface thereon facing the chain 26 and are bentintermediate their ends to form a projecting section 46 thereinextending generally perpendicular to and projecting out over the backupsurface on the plate 40. The finger members 42 are positioned closetogether along the length of the chain 35 and are illustrated as twosuch finger members 42 being provided on each link 41 of the chain 35.The keepers 30 and 39 are adjusted so that the projecting sections 46 ofthe finger members 42 overlie the inboard flight of the chain 26 and arespaced thereabove a prescribed distance as will become more apparent.The chain 35 is also provided with keeper tabs 48 to keep it trainedaround the keeper 39.

As the poultry is conveyed in a head lowermost position through themachine 11, the upper ends of the chains 26 and 35 are oriented so thatthe projecting section 46 on one of the finger members 42 will pass intoalignment with the opening in the neck skin formed by the neck breakingoperation with the inboard flight of the chain 35 passing along thebackside of the bird. The chains 26 and 35 are also adjusted so that thetabs 31 on the holding chain 26 and the backup plates 40 on the fingerchain 35 move into alignment with the upper end of the broken section ofthe neck still held in the neck skin as best seen in FIG. 11. Thespacing between the inboard flights of the chains 26 and 35 is selectedso that the neck skin and neck of the bird will be caught between thetabs 31 on the chain 26 and the backup plates 40 on the chain 35. As thebackup plates 40 press the neck toward the tabs 31 on the chain 26, thewindpipe and esophagus will have a chance to shift circumferentiallyaround the neck until they line up with the notches 32 between the tabs31 and are thus not gripped between the chains 26 and 35. As theoverhead conveyor OC continues to move the bird through the plant at asubstantially constant height, the chains 26 and 35 are synchronouslymoved therewith lengthwise of the processing path and also moveddownwardly with respect to the processing path so that the projectingsection 46 extending into the opening above the broken neck of the birdcatches the upper end of the broken neck of the bird and forces itdownwardly. The projecting section 46 also hooks over the neck skin atthe opening cut therein to pull it downwardly assisted by the tabs 31 onthe holding chain 26 and the backup plates 40 on the finger chain 35.This eventually causes the unsevered portion of the neck skin to breakto release the neck and neck skin from the poultry carcass yet thewindpipe and esophagus can slide up between the neck skin and neck sothat the neck and neck skin can be stripped around the windpipe andesophagus.

The upper set of endless holding assemblies 14 also lie in a commonplane in a side-by-side relationship so that the neck skin will beengaged therebetween. The assemblies 14 typically lie in a horizontalplane with their upstream ends sufficiently far downstream of theupstream ends of the lower pulling assemblies 15 to clear them.

The endless holding assembly 14 on the breast side of the poultryincludes an endless perforating chain 50 trained around upstream anddownstream sprockets 51 whose support shafts 52 are rotatably journalledin bearings mounted on side beam 16 mounting the holding chain 26. Theinboard flight of the perforating chain 50 is positioned by a keeper 54so that the upstream portion of the inboard flight of chain 50 movesinwardly toward the poultry processing path and then moves along a pathgenerally parallel to the poultry processing path.

The perforating chain 50 as seen in FIG. 4 is provided with a pluralityof tapered spikes 55 on the links of the chain which project toward thepoultry as the spikes 55 move along the inboard flight of theperforating chain 50. The spikes 55 define notches therebetween. It willbe appreciated that the spikes 55 can be pressed through the unseveredportion of the neck skin in alignment therewith as the spikes move alongthe inboard flight of the perforating chain 50 without the spikes 55piercing the windpipe and/or esophagus since the cross sectional shapethereof causes them to be displaced until they are aligned with thenotches 56 between the spikes. Keeper tabs 58 may be provided on thechain 50 to keep the chain 50 trained around the keeper 54. To cushionthe engagement between the perforating chain 50 and the neck skin on thebird, a resilient belt 59 is provided which is carried in the chain 50immediately above the tapered spikes 55 thereon. This serves to allowthe neck skin to be gripped by the upper holding assemblies 14 withoutdamaging the windpipe and/or esophagus as will become more apparent. Theparticular belt 59 illustrated has a flat gripping surface 60 generallynormal to the plane of the spikes 55.

The other upper holding assembly 14 includes a gripping chain 61 trainedaround spaced apart upstream and downstream sprockets 62 on shafts 64rotatably journalled in bearings mounted on the side beam 16 mountingthe finger chain 35. The gripping chain 61 is oriented in the samegenerally horizontal plane with the perforating chain 50 with itsinboard flight located in opposition to the inboard flight of theperforating chain 50. The inboard flight of the gripping chain 61 ispositioned by a keeper 65 so that the upstream portion of the inboardflight moves inwardly toward the poultry processing path and then movesalong a path generally parallel to the poultry processing path inopposition to the inboard flight of the perforating chain 50.

A tubular resilient belt 66 as seen in FIG. 5 is mounted on the chain 61so that the belt 66 faces the belt 59 on the perforating chain 50 alongthe inboard flight of chain 61. The belt 66 is held in position by shortpositioning tabs 68 on the links of the chain 61. The tabs 68 areshorter than the cross-sectional diameter of the belt 66 so that thebelt 66 projects outwardly of the ends of tabs 68. Keeper tabs 69 may beprovided on chain 61 to keep the chain 61 trained on the keeper 65.

The keepers 54 and 65 are adjusted so that the tubular belt 66 engagesthe gripping surface 60 on the belt 59 carried by the perforating chain50 with the spikes 55 on the chain 50 extending under the tubular belt66 on the gripping chain 61. The resiliency of the belts 60 and 66 issuch that the belt 66 can engage the windpipe and esophagus withoutdamaging the windpipe and esophagus as it is gripped between the belts59 and 66. Since the inboard flights of the belts 59 and 66 are movingalong paths spaced a constant distance from the overhead conveyor OC,the chains 50 and 61 serve to grip the unsevered portion of the neckskin at the opening in the neck skin above the neck pulling assemblies15 to keep the windpipe and esophagus fixed with respect to the body ofthe carcass. As the belt 66 forces the neck skin against the belt 59,the tapered spikes 55 will be forced through the unsevered portion ofthe neck skin immediately below the position where the neck skin isgripped between belts 59 and 66. This serves to make perforations in theneck skin and weaken it along the line of the spikes 55 so that thedownward motion of the finger members 42 and holding chain 26 serve tobreak the unsevered portion of the neck skin along the perforationformed by the spikes 55. This serves to release the neck with the neckskin thereon. As the finger members 42 and holding chain 26 continue tomove downwardly holding the separated neck and neck skin therebetween,the windpipe and esophagus will be stripped from between the neck andneck skin past the tabs 31 on the holding chain 26.

A water flume 70 seen in FIG. 2 is provided under the downstream ends ofthe neck pulling assemblies 15 so that the separated neck and neck skinwill drop therein upon being released from between the backup plates 40and the holding chain 26 to be delivered for giblet processing. As thecarcass moves out of the neck pulling machine 11, the perforating chain50 and gripping chain 61 pass around the downstream sprockets mountingsame and away from each other so that the neck skin as well as thewindpipe and esophagus are released for passage along with the poultrycarcass by the overhead conveyor OC.

To drive the upper and lower assemblies 14 and 15 an idler unit 71 seenin FIG. 2 is provided which is driven from the overhead conveyor OC andhas a pair of output shafts. One of the output shafts is connected tothe upper holding assemblies 14 through a slip joint extension 72 whilethe lower pulling assemblies 15 are driven from the other output shaftthrough a slip joint extension 74. To synchronously drive both of theupper holding assemblies 14, transfer sprockets 75 are provided whichconnect the shafts 29 and 38 at the downstream ends of the assemblies 14while transfer sprockets 76 connect the shafts 52 and 64 at thedownstream ends of the lower pulling assemblies 15 as best seen in FIG.2. Thus, it will be seen that the upper and lower assemblies 14 and 15are always synchronously driven with respect to the movement of thepoultry by the overhead conveyor OC.

The pulling station P includes a windpipe and crop pulling machine 80best seen in FIGS. 2 and 9-12. The pulling machine 80 includes generallya support frame 81 which mounts a set of endless engagement assemblies82 thereon. The endless engagement assemblies 82 engage the windpipe andesophagus dangling from the poultry carcass and pull them downwardlyaway from the poultry carcass to pull the windpipe and esophagus alongwith any crop attached to the esophagus from the poultry carcass.

The support frame 81 includes a pair of spaced apart aligned side beams84 that are interconnected by slide tubes 85 so that the side beams 84can be moved toward and away from each other while alignment ismaintained by the slide tubes 85. The side beams 84 are rotatablymounted on a cross tube 86 with set collars 88 so that the side beams 84can be moved toward and away from each other and selectively locked intoposition on the cross tube 86 by the set collars 88. The set collars 88also allow the side beams 84 to be pivoted as a unit around the axis ofthe cross tube 86. The cross tube 86 is supported on an appropriate leg89 to support same in the processing plant.

The engagement assemblies 82 are mounted under appropriate covers 90which define an elongate opening extending therebetween through whichthe windpipe and esophagus of the poultry passes and is conveyed by theoverhead conveyor OC. The longitudinal axis of the pulling machine 80 isaligned under the poultry processing path along which the birds areconveyed by the overhead conveyor OC so that the windpipe and esophaguswill pass through the opening between the covers 90 to be engagedbetween the endless engagement assemblies 82 as will become moreapparent.

The engagement assemblies 82 lie in a common place in a side-by-siderelationship so that the windpipe and esophagus will be engaged betweenthe inboard flights thereof. The plane of the assemblies 82 anglesdownwardly from the upstream ends of the assemblies 82 toward thedownstream ends at an angle A_(P) seen in FIG. 2 with respect to thehorizontal. The angle A_(P) is selected to give a sufficient verticaldisplacement of the windpipe and esophagus by the endless engagementassemblies 82 to pull them from the poultry carcass.

One of the endless engagement assemblies 82 includes an endless backupchain 91 trained around upstream and downstream sprockets 92 whosesupport shafts 94 are rotatably journalled in bearings mounted on one ofthe side beams 84. The inboard flight of the backup chain 91 ispositioned by a keeper 95 so that the upstream portion of the inboardflight of chain 91 moves inwardly toward the poultry processing path andthen moves along a path generally parallel to the poultry processingpath but angles downwardly away from the body of the poultry from itsupstream toward its downstream end.

The chain 91 as seen in FIG. 10 mounts a flanged clip 96 on each of thelinks 98 thereof. The flanged clip 96 is located on that side of thelinks 98 facing the poultry processing path as the links 98 pass alongthe inboard flight of chain 91. Each flanged clip 96 has a bottomsupport section 99 with top and bottom angled flanges 100 to define anoutwardly opening belt receiving space between the support section 99and flanges 100. A pair of V-belts 101 are mounted around the backupchain 91 and supported in the flanged clips 96 on the links 98 in aside-by-side relationship so that the belts 101 define a common inwardlyfacing planar support surface 102 facing the poultry processing path asthe belts move along the inboard flight of the chain 91. The commonsupport surface 102 is oriented generally vertically. This planarsupport surface 102 serves to engage one side of the windpipe andesophagus as will become more apparent. Keeper tabs 104 are provided onchain 91 to keep it trained on the keeper 95.

The other endless engagement assembly 82 includes an endless gripperchain 105 trained around upstream and downstream sprockets 106 whosesupport shafts 108 are rotatably journalled in bearings mounted on theother side beam 84. It will be appreciated that the gripper chain 105lies in the same plane as the backup chain 91 and its inboard flight ispositioned by keeper 109 so that the upstream portion of the inboardflight of chain 105 moves inwardly toward the poultry processing pathand then moves along a path generally parallel to the poultry processingpath but angled downwardly away from the body of the poultry from itsupstream toward its downstream end. At the same time, the inboard flightof chains 91 and 105 are aligned with each other across the poultryprocessing path so that the windpipe and esophagus can be engagedtherebetween.

The gripper chain 105 as seen in FIG. 11 mounts a gripping member 110 oneach link 111 thereof so that the gripping members 110 face the poultryprocessing path as they move along the inboard flight of the chain 105.Each gripping member 110 includes a generally vertically oriented planarbase section 112 which joins with attachment flanges 114 on oppositesides thereof that extend back over the chain link 111 and are attachedthereto. The leading end of the base section 112 is provided with atapered cutout 115 while the trailing end of the base section 112 isprovided with a tapered extension 116 that has a size and shape matchingthat of the tapered cutout 115. When the gripping members 110 are inposition on the links 111, it will be seen that the tapered extension116 on the trailing end of each base section 112 will project into thetapered cutout in the base section 112 immediately trailing the firstmentioned gripping member 110. This provides a continuous surface alongthe inboard flight of the gripper chain 105 even though the grippingmembers 110 are slightly spaced apart from each other. The base sections112 along with the tapered extensions 116 are grooved as indicated at118 with grooves that angle downwardly across the base section 112 fromits upstream end toward its downstream end. This provides a groovedgripping surface on the gripping members 110 which cooperate with thesupport surface 102 on the other engagement assembly 82 to grip thewindpipe and esophagus therebetween. The gripped area of the windpipeand esophagus is maximized to minimize the unit loading thereon so as toprevent inadvertant breakage of the windpipe and esophagus.

The upstream ends of the engagement assemblies 82 are adjusted so thatthe windpipe and esophagus dangling from the poultry carcass after itleaves the neck pulling machine 11 passes between the inboard flights ofthe backup chain 91 and gripper chain 105. This causes the planarsupport surface 102 defined by the belts 101 around the chain 91 and thegrooved base sections 112 on the gripping members 110 on gripper chain105 to engage the windpipe and esophagus therebetween to grip same. Asthe poultry continues to be moved by the overhead conveyor OC, thechains 91 and 105 are synchronously moved therewith but are displaceddownwardly to pull the windpipe and esophagus out of the poultrycarcass. The removed windpipe and esophagus along with any crop attachedto the esophagus are dropped out from between the belts 101 and grippingmember 110 as the chains 91 and 105 pass around the downstream sprocketsmounting same to dispose of them.

To synchronously drive the chains 91 and 105 with the movement of thepoultry, an idler unit 119 is provided which is driven by the conveyorand connected to one of the downstream support shafts 108 carrying thechain 105 by a slip joint extension 120 as best seen in FIG. 2. Thelower end of the support shaft 108 driven by the extension 120 isdrivingly connected to the downstream support shaft 94 carrying thebackup chain 91 by transfer gears 121 so that both chains 91 and 105will be synchronously driven.

In operation, the overhead conveyor OC moves the poultry past the neckbreaking station NB and subsequently past the viscera unloading stationVU. The neck removal station NR is located downstream of the visceraunloading station VU with the neck removal machine 11 located under theoverhead conveyor OC so that the space between the covers 25 is alignedwith the neck of the birds as they are conveyed by the overhead conveyorOC. It will be appreciated that the shackles S supporting the birds bythe hocks limit the downward motion of the carcass of the bird.

The neck removal machine 11 is positioned so that the upper end of thebroken neck passes into the space between the upstream ends of theholding chain 26 and finger chain 35 and so that the tabs 31 on theholding chain 26 and backup plates 40 on the finger chain 35 will catchthe upper end of the neck and the skin therearound therebetween (seeFIG. 8). Additionally, the height of the bird relative to the neckremoval machine is selected so that the projecting section 46 on one ofthe finger members 42 carried by the finger chain 35 will extend intothe opening in the neck skin above the broken end of the neck. As thechains 26 and 35 move downwardly at the angle A_(N), the conveyor OCcontinues to move the poultry carcass along a constant height path sothat the tabs 31 and backup plates 40 along with the finger members 42force the neck and neck skin down and away from the carcass of the bird.It will be appreciated that the windpipe and esophagus can shift aroundunder the neck skin to fall in the notches 32 between the tabs 31 sothat the windpipe and esophagus will not be caught thereby.

After the neck has been caught between the holding chain 26 and thefinger chain 35, the unsevered portion of the neck skin above theholding chain 26 and finger chain 35 passes between the upstream ends ofthe perforating chain 50 and gripping chain 61. As the chains 50 and 51move toward each other, the neck skin as well as the windpipe andesophagus will be gripped between the gripping surface 60 on the belt 59carried by the perforating chain 50 and the tubular belt 66 carried bythe gripping chain 61 (see FIG. 8). At the same time, the spikes 55 onthe perforating chain 50 will form perforations in the unsevered portionof the neck skin gripped between the chains 50 and 61 at a positionimmediately below the position where the neck skin is gripped. Thechains 50 and 61 do not shift with respect to the poultry carcass as thebird moves through the neck removal machine. This positively holds thewindpipe and esophagus to prevent them from being inadvertantly pulledfrom the carcass as the neck is removed. The perforation of the neckskin below the point where it is gripped serves to weaken the neck skinsufficiently to insure that it will break along the perforations as thetabs 31 on the holding chain 26 and the backup plates 40 and fingermembers 42 on the finger chain 35 force the neck and neck skindownwardly away from the carcass of the bird. Thus, the windpipe andesophagus are retained on the poultry carcass and stripped out fromunder the neck skin. After the neck has been removed from the poultrycarcass, the removed necks are dropped into the water flume 70 whilethat portion of the neck skin still attached to the poultry carcass aswell as the windpipe and esophagus are released from between theperforating chain 50 and the gripping chain 61.

The overhead conveyor OC continues to move the poultry to the pullingstation P located immediately downstream of the neck removal station NR.The windpipe and crop pulling machine 80 is located in registration withthe poultry passing along the processing path so that the poultrycarcass passes above the covers 90 on the pulling machine 80 while thewindpipe and esophagus hang down through the opening between the covers90. The windpipe and esophagus hanging through the opening between thecovers 90 move in between the upstream ends of the endless engagementassemblies 82. This causes the windpipe and esophagus to pass betweenthe planar support surface 102 on the V-belts 101 carried by the backupchain 91 and the gripping members 110 carried by the gripper chain 105.As the backup chain 91 and gripper 105 move downwardly at the angleA_(P), the overhead conveyor OC continues to move the poultry carcassalong a fixed height path so that the gripped windpipe and esophagus arepulled from the poultry carcass. It will likewise be appreciated thatany crop left in the poultry carcass will be pulled therefrom by theesophagus.

What is claimed as invention is:
 1. A method of removing the necks frompoultry comprising the steps of:conveying the poultry along a processingpath in a head lowermost position; breaking the necks of the poultrywhile cutting an opening through the neck skin at its juncture with thebody of the bird without severing the windpipe and esophagus; insertinga removal member into the opening through the neck skin to engage thatportion of the neck broken from the poultry carcass; and displacing theremoval member away from the poultry carcass to force the broken neckaway from the poultry carcass and break the neck skin away from thepoultry carcass while leaving the windpipe and esophagus attached to thepoultry carcass.
 2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step ofengaging the windpipe and esophagus after the neck has been removed andpulling the windpipe and esophagus from the poultry carcass.
 3. Themethod of claim 2 further comprising the step of supporting theunsevered portion of the neck skin as the removal member is displacedfrom the poultry carcass to cause the unsevered portion of the neck skinto separate along a prescribed path while leaving the windpipe andesophagus attached to the poultry carcass.
 4. The method of claim 3further comprising the step of gripping the neck and neck skin while theremoval member is displaced to support the neck and neck skin duringremoval.
 5. The method of claim 4 further comprising the step ofperforating unsevered portion of the neck skin along the prescribed pathto insure that the unsevered portion of the neck skin will separatealong the prescribed path.
 6. Apparatus for removing the neck and neckskin from a poultry carcass as the poultry carcass is transported in ahead lowermost position by a conveyor where the neck has been broken andan opening has been made in the neck skin at the break yet the brokenneck is still attached to the poultry carcass through an unseveredportion of neck skin, and the windpipe and esophagus are not cut at theopening, said apparatus comprising:a removal member having a portionthereof sized to be inserted into the opening in the neck skin above thebroken neck; and drive means for moving said removal membersynchronously with the movement of the poultry carcass while effectingdisplacement of said removal member relative to the poultry carcass tocause said removal member to engage the broken neck within the neck skinand force the broken neck and neck skin away from the poultry carcass tobreak the unsevered portion of the neck skin to separate the neck andneck skin from the poultry carcass.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 furtherincluding holding means for engaging the neck of the poultry carcass inopposition to said removal member to grip the neck and neck skin betweensaid holding means and said removal member yet permit the windpipe andesophagus to slide thereby without being separated from the poultrycarcass.
 8. The apparatus of claim 6 further including gripping meansadapted to engage the unsevered portion of the neck skin as well as thewindpipe and esophagus to support same and wherein said drive meansmoves said gripping means synchronously with the movement of the poultrycarcass and while maintaining a relatively fixed position between thepoultry carcass and said gripping means.
 9. The apparatus of claim 6further including a plurality of said removal members and endlesssupport means mounting said removal members thereon for movementtherewith along an endless path so that said removal members engage theopening in neck skin of the poultry carcasses successively moved by theconveyor.
 10. The apparatus of claim 6 further including perforatingmeans for perforating the unsevered portion of the neck skin along aprescribed path to cause the unsevered portion of the neck skin toseparate along the prescribed path as said removal member is displacedaway from the poultry carcass.
 11. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein saidgripping means includes a pair of resilient endless belts oriented in aside-by-side relationship in a common plane with adjacent inboardflights arranged to grip the unsevered portion of the neck skintherebetween.
 12. Apparatus for pulling the windpipe and esophagus outof the poultry carcass after the neck has been removed therefromcomprising a pair of endless flexible support members trained formovement around endless paths in a side-by-side relationship; firstresilient gripping means mounted on one of said endless support membersand defining a first substantially continuous resilient gripping surfacethereon along the length of said support member; second non-resilientgripping means mounted on the other of said endless support members anddefining a second substantially continuous nonresilient surface thereonalong the length of said support member so that the windpipe andesophagus are engaged and held between said first and second grippingmeans without severing same; and drive means for moving said grippingmeans synchronously with each other and with the movement of the poultrycarcass while effecting displacement of said support members and saidgripping means relative to the poultry carcass to cause said grippingmeans to pull the windpipe and esophagus out of the poultry carcass. 13.Apparatus of claim 12 wherein said second gripping means includes aplurality of gripping members mounted on said support member in anend-to-end relationship, each of said gripping members defining a cutouttherein and including an extension thereon opposite said cutout so thatsaid extension on each of said gripping members extends into one of saidcutouts in an adjacent gripping member to define said substantiallycontinuous gripping surface along the length of said endless supportmember.
 14. Apparatus for removing the necks from poultry carcassesbeing conveyed along a processing path in a head lowermost positioncomprising:neck breaking means for breaking the necks of the poultrywhile cutting an opening through the neck skin at its juncture with thebody of the carcass without severing the windpipe and esophagus; neckremoval means including a plurality of removal members having portionsthereof sized to be inserted into the opening in the neck skin above thebroken neck and for engaging the broken neck of the poultry and removingeach broken neck of the poultry from the poultry carcass by displacementof the removal member away from the poultry carcass while leaving thewindpipe and esophagus attached to the poultry carcass; and pullingmeans including a pair of endless gripping means arranged side-by-sidefor selectively engaging the windpipe and esophagus therebetween whileattached to the poultry carcass after the neck has been removed andpulling the windpipe and esophagus out of the poultry carcass by causingdisplacement of the endless gripping means away from the poultrycarcass.